Suze Orman SelectQuote Review

Most celebrities probably don’t know the first thing about insurance, and aren’t likely insured by the companies they represent. Shocker, we know.

In fact, most “standard” insurance companies don’t have programs with liability limits high enough to protect the super rich or offer property insurance with high enough limits to cover their multi-million dollar homes and vehicles…LeBron and State Farm…we’re looking in your direction.

On the other hand, Suze Orman’s new pitch for SelectQuote has some validity. Not only was she licensed to sell life and health insurance at one point, she actually has a policy with them, according to her recorded video testimonials on SelectQuote’s website.

Of course, we like the tag line of her pitch: “The Truth About Price Quotes.” We here at The Truth About Insurance think it has a nice ring to it.

Who/What Is SelectQuote?

They are a direct marketer of term life insurance

Started all the way back in 1985

And now the #1 term life sales agency in the country

They currently represent about a dozen life insurers and some 70 different types of policies

SelectQuote is an insurance agency…a very big, national insurance agency. In fact, their website points out that they are “America’s #1 Independent Term Life Insurance Agency.”

Number “1” at what isn’t clear, but our educated guess is that they are the largest by insurance premium volume or “in-force” policies in the U.S.

How they would be able to determine that is unknown, as independent insurance agencies do not have to disclose either piece of information to anyone… Perhaps it’s #1 in customer service? Who knows?

Okay, we found out. Apparently they have written over $500 billion in life insurance coverage since inception.

Either way, as an independent insurance agency, SelectQuote represents several life insurers and has the ability to shop your unique profile with all of them in order to find you the absolute cheapest term life insurance policy.

That’s the benefit of any independent insurance agent; multiple carriers equal multiple quotes. Multiple quotes equal the best deal. It is recommended you always shop your insurance with an independent agent.

State Farm, Farmers, Allstate and other “captive” insurers can typically only offer one quote. Take it or leave it.

That explains their combined multi-billion dollar advertising budgets. They appeal to us emotionally as a means to sway us to buy a potentially much more expensive policy, rather than rationally, which would lead all of us to less expensive insurance coverage.

Similar to the way you buy gas from whichever gas station is selling it at a lower cost (assuming the policy coverage is the same…and the gas is the same).

Why Does Suze Like Them So Much?

We have to hand it to Suze this time

She likes the idea of shopping around for stuff

And so do we, especially things that are largely a commodity

Orman also recommends term life as opposed to other types of life insurance, which is generally a good call

Re-read the section above. Suze’s whole pitch revolves around the need to shop insurance with multiple companies to get the best deal.

Just like us, she recommends term life, as opposed to whole life insurance, with the former a low cost option that offers high limits of coverage as a means to protect your dependents in the event of your untimely passing.

Oh yeah…and they are probably paying her a million dollars for the endorsement as well.

Final Word on SelectQuote

They seem to make it easy to shop around for life insurance

Since they act as an independent agent

SelectQuote only represents companies with A- to A+ A.M. Best ratings

But be sure to look at insurers outside their organization as well

You need to shop your insurance with an independent agent. Period.

Whether it’s SelectQuote or the local independent agent in your neighborhood, if you don’t get multiple quotes you’re doing yourself a disservice.

Normally, we stand firm against the celebrity endorsement, but this time it’s different. This celebrity knows what she’s talking about.

Now, if we had to critique something, it would probably be the amount of hairspray she uses, or her choice in jackets…

But in all seriousness, you may still want to compare SelectQuote’s offerings to those of another independent agent/agency to see what else is out there.

They don’t represent every life insurer out there, just a handful they seem to like and/or get paid commissions by.

To ensure you don’t leave any stone unturned, it could be wise to look outside their umbrella of affiliated companies.